Coburn was the third defender on the Lightning's protection list for the upcoming expansion draft.

Coburn's name on the list alongside Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman was a bit surprising, given the potential of impressive rookie Jake Dotchin. But his contract is solid at a $3.7 million cap hit each of the next two years. It's a sign the Bolts intend to take a hard run at the Cup in the next couple seasons and Coburn's solid game will go a long way to stabilizing the back end. He may even play foil to new arrival Mikhail Sergachev.